Restaurant Bookkeeping

Restaurants are just like any other type of business. They have sales, expenses, employees, debt, capital expenditures and other assets. However, each industry and business itself has its own little set of rules that makes it unique. Our firm has the experience and knowledge necessary to help you with your restaurant accounting needs.

Things which make restaurant accounting unique:

Sales taxes (ST-103): Indiana restaurants are required to collect a 7% sales tax on the food they sell.

Food and Beverage Taxes (FAB-103): Some counties are also required to collect a food and beverage tax on the food they sell. Allen county’s Food and Beverage tax is 1%.

Restaurants do not have to pay the normal federal minimum wage to their staff. The assumption is the waiters would receive tips which would bring them to minimum wage. Waiters are required to report their tips and taxes need to be withheld. If, after tips are considered, the staff did not earn the normal federal minimum wage, the restaurant is required to “catch them up” to the normal minimum wage limit.

In 2010 certain restaurant improvement and buildings were allowed to be depreciated over 15 years per the IRS code. However, Indiana does not allow the 15 year life span and adjustments need to be made to the restaurants tax return to account for this. It is unclear at this time what the government is going to do going forward.

Things that we can do to help:

Help you set up a system to track sales and taxes

Help you with your payroll to record hours and appropriately account for tips